Hello everyone,
I have a few questions, first a little about myself, I was born in Afghanistan and refuged to the U.S. at the age of ten, I am currently a senior in college and will take a year off after graduation to teach english in Japan. My GPA is 3.5 and I will be applying to Stanford, UC Santa Cruz, Berkeley, and UC Santa Barbara for Social Psychology/ Human Development. I was wondering if any of you could recommend some good “safety” schools in california as my chances of getting in to the places I’m applying to will most likely be slim to none. From the brief discription I gave you, what do you guys think my chances of getting in will be? As soon as the Fall semester starts I will look for research opportunities on campus and I am pretty actively involved on campus as well. I have contacted a faculty member at santa cruz and am planning on corresponding with her over the year and also researching other faculty members in my desired grad schools. Also, will taking a year off hurt me in terms of financial aid? I am getting a full rid to attend my current college because of my financial need and my etnicity, I am hoping my background in itself will get my foot in the door, it seems schools want more diverse students. Anyway, thanks for reading this long letter. Your advice will be much appreciated!!
deen
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